The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to fluorinated hydrocarbon compositions and their use.
Fluorinated hydrocarbons have been widely used in a number of applications, including refrigerants and other heat transfer fluids, polymer foam blowing agents, fire suppressants, lubricants, fire suppressants, foaming agents, dielectric fluids, solvents, cleaning fluids, drying agents, reaction media, and aerosol propellants, to name a few. In the past chlorinated fluorocarbons (CFC's) were used for many of these applications; however, concerns about their ozone-depleting potential have resulted in their use being largely discontinued. Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC's) were considered as an alternative for CFC's, but they also have been phased out due to their ozone-depleting potential. CFC's and HCFC's have been largely replaced with hydrofluorocarbons such as HFC-134a (tetrafluoroethane).
New environmental concerns such as global warming have helped spur the quest for new materials to be used for any or all of the above applications. Materials have been proposed, but new and different alternatives are still desired that may offer beneficial performance or properties.